The UK is big on retail tech and with events like the annual WIRED Retail Startup Showcase fueling enthusiasm for innovation in the retail sector, there’s perpetual excitement for what the future might hold. One major aspect of retail technology set to see massive upgrades and could be more easily adapted for use in retail outlets across the country is shelving, especially concerning its role in improving the shopping experience.
Electronic display
In the future, we can expect to see stationary price tags being replaced with digital shelving. With the Pioneer Group and troniTAG partnering to bring electronic shelf labeling (ESL) to the UK and Ireland, we have started taking baby steps towards that not so distant future. The ESL system replaces traditional paper price tags with E-paper displays, adopting the same technology used in electronic books for use in retail outfits. According to ABI Research, ESLs will have accrued over $4 billion in global revenues by 2022, with the market likely to see massive growth within the next two years.
The technology eliminates the need to manually swap paper labels as an administrator can simply update prices on a limitless number of labels located in a single store or across multiple stores from a central dashboard. What’s more, the displays are highly energy efficient as they only consume energy when being updated, meaning the batteries won’t wear out for years. ESL systems offer an additional feature that links stock management systems to the shelves, allowing retailers and supermarkets to maintain an updated pricing arrangement.
Smart shelves
While traditional acrylic shelves and regular slatwall accessories are going to remain in popular use for a long time, especially with innovative suppliers such as Slatwall Accessories, the retail industry is very receptive of new technologies.
Using a similar technology deployed by online retailers to track customers and retarget ads to entice them back, smart shelves could bring extensive analytics of consumer behaviour to retail outlets. In Cold Spring, Ohio, a Kroger store has shelves that display digitized pricing labels and product information. The company is looking to take the technology further by making it more personalised, with price tags lighting up in aisles containing the customer’s preferred products.
A startup, Perch Interactive, is able to detect when a product is picked up by a customer, using laser and motion sensors. The company keeps track of how customers interact with the products and informs retailers about which products get picked but are not bought. The technology has an additional feature that provides recommendations based on what products a shopper picks up.
It is expected that by 2021, 77% of companies will be aware of the presence of specific customers in their stores and will be able to create a personalised experience for them. Supermarket chain, Waitrose, is testing out video shelf-edge technology in its wine aisle to provide customers with wine tasting notes and recommendations, as well as food and wine matching.
